Inkstand



(No Model.)

J. LARKIN. I NKSTAND.

' UNITED STATES PATENT IOFFICE.

JOI-IN LARKIN, OF BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.

INKSTAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 434,346, dated August A12, 1890.

Application iiled November 29, 1889.

T` @ZZ whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, JOHN LARKIN, of Bradford, in the county of McKean and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Inkstands; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which Vit pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification.

vMy invention relates to an improvement in automatically-acting inkstands; and it consists in the combination and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to produce an inkstand in which the ink is made to rise into a funnel, which projects above the top of the well or body, by a slight pressure of the pen, and to provide the body with an automatically-acting valve, so that the air which may have become expanded by heat can freely escape, and thus not interfere with the automatic action of the inkstand.

The accompanying drawing represents a vertical section of an inkstand which embodies my invention.

A represents the body, well, or chamber which contains the ink, and which may be made of any suitable material and given any form that may be preferred. Placed upon the top of this body, chamber, or well, is the cover B, which closes the i'nkstand air-tight at this point. Through the center of this cover B is made a vertical opening, through which the stem C of the funnel D extends and has a slight vertical play. Attached to the lower end of this stem is a ball G, which is made of rubber or other elastic material, and which has an opening H made through its bottom, so that the ink in the well will always iiow into the ball and find its level. No matter how small a quantity of ink there may be in the bottom of the well, this ink will flow into the ball and find its level, and thus be ready for action. When the pressure of the pen is applied to the cone, its downward movement serves to compress the ball, and

Serial No. 331,887. (No model.)

the air which is inside of the ball, acting upon the ink contained in it, at once forces the ink up through the stem into the funnel. As soon as the pressure of the pen is released the funnel rises again and an additional quantity of ink from the body runs vinto the ball. Upon the stem is made a'shoulder I, which serves to limit the distance that the ball shall move the cone upward, and thus it is immaterial what the quantity of ink in the well may be, as the cone will always-rise just as high as this shoulderwill permit. Through the top is made an air-passage, opening, or escape ,0, and the outer end of this passage or escape is closed by a perforated plug P. Placed in this passage, which is smaller at its inner than its outer end, is the verticallymovingvalve R which is conical at-both of its ends, and the passage or escape and the inner end of the hollowed-out plug are made to correspond tothe shape of the valve. This plug has just a slight vertical play, and is intended to allow the escape of any air in the well or body which may become expanded by heat. As soon as the air expands its pressure upon the top of the ink causes it to rise through the stem into the funnel, where it not only evaporates, but where it thickens upon the funnel. As long as the ink rises into the funnel the automatic action of the inkstand. is destroyed, and hence it becomes necessary that there should be a free escape for any unnecessary amount of air which may be in the well or body. This valve is made conical at both of its ends, so that in case the inkstand should be upset it instantly closes the opening through the cap, covering, or plug,

and hence prevents any escape of the ink at this point. v

The operation of the inkstand is as follows: The ink rises to its level inside of the ball and remains there until a pressure is exerted upon the cone or funnel, and then the downward movement of the stem forces that portion of the ball through which the inlet-opening is made against the bottom of the well or body and closes this opening so that n0 air can escape at this point. The top of the ball being forced downward or compressed by the action of the stem causes the pressure of the air in the ballupon the top of the ink to IOO force this ink up into the cone in a sucient quantity to supply the pen. The moment the pressure of the pen is released the elasticity of the ball instantly moves the cone upward as far as the shoulder upon its stem will allow, and then a fresh supply of ink flows into the ball from the Well. Should the inkstand be kept in a very warm room, or the rays of the sun fall upon the inkstand, the air inside of the Well will expand, and then this expanded air, instead of acting injuriously upon the body of ink in the well, simply escapes through the automaticallyacting valve, and hence the ink will never rise into the funnel unless the funnel is depressed for that purpose. The opening through the top B is just sufficiently large to allow the stem to have a free vertical play and no more, and hence no leakage can ever take place at this point. The shoulder upon the stem is-so regulated in relation to the cone that the cone has just sufiicient movement to cause the ball to lill the cone with ink, and hence no overow can ever take place by the depression of the cone. As the rising of the ink into the funnel is controlled entirely by the compression of the air inside of the ball, it is perfectly immaterial whether the cover B is air-tight or not, or is even used, so long as there is a guide by which the funnel is held in a vertical position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination of the body of the inkstand provided with a cover with the vertically-moving cone provided with a stem which extends through the cover, and an elastic ball or body having an opening for theinflow of ink, and which is applied to the lower end of the stem, substantially as shown.

2. The combination of the body provided with an air-tigl1t cover, the vertically-moving cone provided with a shouldered stem which regulates the amount of movement that the cone shall have, and an elastic body which is applied to the lower end of the cone and having an opening in its lower end for the admission of ink, whereby.the said opening is closed by the body of the ink-reservoir, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with an inkstand, of an automatically-acting valve which is applied thereto for the escape of rarefied air, substan tially as set forth.

4. The combination of an automatically acting inkstand with an air-passage or outlet, a perforated plug or cover applied to the outer end of this outlet, and a valve which is made conical atboth of its ends, substantially as specified.

5. The combination, with an air-tight ink chamber or reservoir, of an elastic hollow body, a vertically-moving feeding-stern, which is secured thereto for collapsing the said body, and an automatically-acting valve for allowing an excess of air to escape, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JNO. LARKIN.

Witnesses:

A. STEVENS PA'rrIsoN, E. P. ELLIS. 

